MEGA: Nomination Committee screens entries

AS the organisers of the Music and Entertainment Awards, Nigeria’s premier gospel music awards, are warming up for the second edition of the awards ceremony scheduled to hold at The Haven, GRA Ikeja, Lagos on Friday, November 14,the Nomination Committee has begun work on screening hundreds of songs entered for this year’s event.

According to the organisers, the submission of entries, which ran from March 17, to June 14, witnessed over 100% increase from last year, particularly in the Singles category.

In a release, celebrated journalist, publisher and author, Femi Akintunde-Johnson, who is also the Coordinator of the 2014 MEGA’s Central Working Committee (CWC), said: “We hope to empanel the Body of Judges by the end of July – they are to take over the screening from the Nomination Committee; after which, the pre-nominated shortlists shall be released for Public Voting (PV) which accounts for 10% of the final aggregate percentage.”

Driven by the vision, flair and robust interest in the positive development of Nigerian entertainment, he further said that Footprints Pub & Media Ltd., an integrated communications outfit (the awards’ executive producer), in the conception, articulation and management of the awards, had evolved a unique relationship with different stakeholders within the Nigerian music community so as to “protect, preserve and maintain the independence, integrity, stability and continuity of the MEGA in perpetuity.”

“In collaboration with the 2014 Central Working Committee (CWC) , a volunteer group of extremely committed and highly successful professionals has taken up the assignment of entrenching a truly comprehensive and highly regarded reward system for the country’s gospel music industry,” he said.

Akintunde-Johnson, who is famously called FAJ, further said that though the organisers don’t encourage posthumous awards, they have resolved to recognise the enormous contributions of the late Nollywood movie maker and director, Amaka Igwe, in “berthing the awards on the rock of MEGA.”

Consequently, he said: “We, therefore, endow the Music Video award ceremony in her name -in the likely absence of the Gospel Movie categories this year. We also pray for fortitude and divine strength for the families and friends of the first winner of MEGA Best English Medley winner, Kefee (Mrs. Don-Momoh) who left us few weeks ago. May their souls find eternal rest in His bosom.”

In the release, the respected journalist also lamented the seeming apathy towards gospel music in Nigeria. Worried by the number of artistes who, according to him, are wasting away for lack of adequate and sustained exposure and appreciation, he said: “Our media, as if by collective indignation, consign stories, airplay and programmes that have any hint of “gospel” to weekends – often only Sundays. This attitude is largely influenced, we believe, by the belief that “gospel music” needs to be “helped” until it acquires the quality and prevalence of mainstream music. How awfully wrong!”

He added that the forthcoming awards ceremony would further satisfy the yearning for the promotion and celebration of “genuine messengers of the Word and their up- and-coming successors.”